@Andy77 wrote:
I know many get approved for financing at Carmax and get cars there, I wanted to share my experience so you don't have to go through what I went through....
So I have to state my experience with Carmax. I got a 2008 LS-460 in Sept of 2019. In the paperwork I signed it stated they checked everything on the car and all passed their inspections.
Well, in one month of owning the car the lights on the radio went out and the suspension broke.
Independent dealers and Lexus all stated if the lights in the radio go out, we replace the entire radio, Carmax did not do that, they ripped apart the radio and soldered on diodes or lights on the radio circuitry. Three months later they are all burned out again.
Carmax put aftermarket parts on the car for the suspension
My car was vandalized while at their service center.
The bottom line is this, they don't adequately inspect the cars before selling them and when you do have to use their service department they will do the repairs to their standards, which are the absolute cheapest.
Regarding the Maxcare warranty, mine was through CNA, I paid 3500.00 and I found out after I purchased it, these warranties are break down warranties, which means they don't authorize repairs until parts actually break.
Let me give you an example, I took my car to one of the top independent mechanics in Los Angeles and they stated all 8 control arms, part of the suspension needed replacing. CNA stated, we won't replace one control arm until this other part of your suspension is leaking. So to actually use an extended warranty you purchase at Carmax, remember item have to actually break, and while you are waiting a year for that to happen, you are driving around with a terrible suspension on a car you pay hundreds for monthly.
I would suggest not getting a car from them, my experience was beyond terrible.
All of this took place in Burbank, CA Carmax.
So my experience was not terrible with Carmax, but it was a decade ago, so who knows if their business practices changed.
I personally never get extended warranties, but that is me, as it is a waste when I have a live-in master automotive tech, my SO.
It did have the 30d warranty and it was 4 years old, but under 50k miles, so it still had a 5yr/50k manufacturer warranty. The brakes squeaked and of course instead of making my SO do the work I took it in to the dealership. No dice. Took it in 3 times, still squeaked. Took it to my SO and he fixed it.
I get it, I compare apples to oranges here because no manufacturer, automotive tech, mechanic, or warranty will care about my car more or take as much time needed to get things done right than my SO.
Point being, they evaluated every time I brought it in and they made sure nothing major was wrong. I got oil changes and xx mile service done for free due to the transferable manufacture warranty. The car lasted beyond the 6 year life of the loan (I had it 7 years), it still has no major problems, I was able to sell it no problem, and they it is still cruising along no problem. It is now a 17 year old vehicle.
The car buying process was easy and simple and if you are simply looking to buy a car, it isn't bad at all. I had much worse credit than I do now and still walked away with single digit interest rate. So I cannot knock Carmax for the car or the process. Of course in regards to their extended warranty, I cannot speak to that whatsoever.
